1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an everting tube. More particularly, the present invention relates to a simple method of producing an everting tube from a flexible, collapsible tube and the structure so produced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,060 (Hoffman) discloses a speculum liner and insemination rod combination. In particular, there is provided a speculum comprising a pasteboard, plastic or equivalent tube which is open-ended and about six inches long. However, this speculum tube is improved in that it is equipped with a practical anticontaminating means; more specifically, a simple paper or an equivalent liner. This liner was found to best take the form of a paper bag or envelope with the major portion and the closed end thereof protectively sheathed in the bore or passage of the speculum tube. The open end of the bag is bent or folded over the desired end (either end) of the speculum tube, wrapped tightly and attached permanently. Consequently, when the insemination rod is inserted and passed through the bore of the tube the leading end presses upon the closed imperforate end of the liner and it will gradually evert until the closed end projects a few inches beyond the leading end of the speculum tube and, when the envelope is tautened, the rod is forced through and beyond the closed end to do its intended job.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,092 (Silverman) discloses a medical probing instrument having flexible, extrudable tubing adapted to be extraverted under pressure into a body cavity. In particular, there is provided a closed housing or container having at one end a tubular projection of a diameter smaller than the cavity diameter, and generally of the approximate diameter of the thin-walled flexible tube to be placed inside of the cavity. A length of thin-walled flexible tubing with one end closed is placed inside the container (closed end first) through the tubular projection. The open end of the tubing is placed over the tubular projection of the container and clamped in pressure tight relation thereto. A means for introducing a gas or liquid under pressure inside the container is provided. The fluid pressure forces the tubing to be ejected out of the container through the tubular opening--being turned inside out as it goes. The internal fluid pressure enables the tubing to exert a pressure on the walls of the cavity to separate them and permit the tubing to be extruded and "grow" in length. The tubing can be retrieved by being physically withdrawn from the cavity, but preferably, it can be withdrawn by providing a cord or other tension member attached to the closed end inside the container, and to withdraw or wind up the cord by appropriate means, retrieving the tubing, all the while maintaining fluid pressure inside the tubing, by a procedure which is the direct reverse of the insertion process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,433,214 (Silverman) discloses a method and apparatus for everting a tubular probe into a body cavity. The device consists of a tubular casing, a flexible, thin-walled tubular probe inside of the casing with the inside end closed and the outside end sealed circumferentially over a first end of the casing. The second end of the casing is closed. A reservoir of liquid is provided that can be raised above and lowered below the level of the casing. The reservoir is connected by a conduit to the casing. When the reservoir is raised, relative to the casing, liquid flows into the casing, causing the tubing to evert out of the end of the casing. When the reservoir is lowered, relative to the casing, liquid flows out of the casing, causing the tubing to be inverted back into the casing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,069 (Silverman) discloses a method and apparatus for placing a tubular probe in a body cavity and for retrieving the probe from the body cavity. The instrument comprises a rigid tubular casing and a flexible eversible tubing inside the casing. One end of the tubing is closed and the other end is sealed circumferentially over an open end of the casing. The other end of the casing is closed. Means are provided to pump fluid into the casing, at a pressure higher than the pressure outside the casing, to evert the tubing out of the open end of the casing. Means are provided to pump fluid out of the casing, at a pressure lower than the pressure outside of the casing, to invert the tubing back into the casing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,011 (Silverman) discloses a medical instrument for everting a thin walled flexible tubing. In particular, there is provided a length of collapsed thin walled tubing which is to be everted. A first end of the tubing is turned back on itself to form a cuff, providing an annular volume between the cuff and the collapsed tubing. A means to seal the cuff to the tubing is provided to close off the annular volume, and means are provided to insert fluid under pressure into the closed-off volume. The pressure causes the volume to expand longitudinally, drawing the collapsed tubing through the seal and causing it to be everted. The cuff is sealed to the tubing by being pressed into sliding sealing contact, or means such as a sealing ring is placed in the annulus. A disc with a central opening can be used with the tubing inserted through the opening turned back on itself and sealed circumferentially to the disc.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,356 (Silverman) discloses a method for everting and extraverting flexible tubing into a body cavity. In particular, one end of a tubing is closed and the other is sealed to a fluid pressure casing. The closed end of the tubing is initially disposed within the casing and a tension member passing through the casing is fixed to the reentrant tubing end. Instrumentation, radiation sources, etc. are transported by the tension member as the closed end everts through the tubing within the cavity. The everted tubing is retained within the cavity for a finite time and the initially closed end of the everted tubing may be opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,635 (Viek) discloses a simplified catheter structure including a disc adapted to be positioned in contact with the urethra meatus. The disc is provided with an aperture and a flexible tube is secured to the disc at the aperture. The flexible tube is adapted to be pushed through the aperture whereby the tube becomes everted in the urethra.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,927 (Rich, et al.) discloses an instrument for everting a flexible tubing into a body passage. In particular, the instrument comprises a rigid hollow casing having a flexible tubing located therein in such a manner that the hollow casing may be pressurized, the tubing everted out of the hollow casing and into the body passage. However, the tube is only partially everted into the body passage and then sealed so as to create a double-wall structure containing a pressurizing fluid between the walls. Thereafter, the hollow casing may be detached leaving the partially everted flexible tubing in the body passage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,345 (Kramann, et al.) discloses a catheter. In particular, the catheter comprises a flexible hose attached to one end of a rigid tube through which fluid pressure may be applied to invert the hose from an invaginated position within said tube to an exserted position extending outwardly of said tube. At the distal end of the hose, a valve is provided which remains closed when the hose assumes its exserted position. The valve is formed at the distal end of the hose by cutting the distal end along a plane extending obliquely of the axis of the hose and forming the distal end walls of the hose in an abutting configuration defining therebetween an orifice which tends to remain closed by abutment of the distal end walls against each other when the hose is in its invaginated position, and particularly when fluid pressure is applied within the tube, with the abutting wall portions between which said orifice is defined tending to separate to open the orifice when the hose is exserted from the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,610 (Masuda) discloses a method and apparatus for passing an article through the interior of a pipe. In particular, a turned-over or inverted section is formed at one end of a flexible, fluid impervious tube by turning the tube inside out and folding it back up on itself. With the turned-over end inserted in a pipe or conduit, the folded over end is secured to the pipe and then a fluid pressure differential is created between the inside of the tube in the pipe and the inside of the pipe ahead of the tube which differential is great enough to cause the turned-over end of the tube to migrate along the pipe from one end to the other by drawing the tube into the pipe from the end which is not attached to the pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,659 (Sheridan) discloses urinary evagination catheters comprising a rigid tube and a flexible invaginated hose, provided with a stopper arrangement in the ported distal end of the hose that remains closed until the hose is fully everted from the tube at which point it automatically opens to permit fluid flow through the catheter. The catheter is produced by the steps of providing a substantially rigid tube open at both ends and a flexible hose shorter in length and smaller in diameter than said tube, said hose having a closed end, and an open end, the hose preferably tapering from the open end down to a smaller closed end. The hose advantageously has a varying wall thickness, being thicker at the large end of the taper and gradually thinning toward the small end. A port is cut in the side of the hose adjacent the closed end and leaving the tip as a pendant upon the now ported end of the hose. This tip is next inverted and inserted in the hose through the port forming a removable stopper for the hose port. The hose is then inserted small end first into the tube to such an extent that a short section of the open end of the hose remains outside of one end. This short section is folded back over the outside of the tube and a fluid-tight connection is made between the short section of hose and the adjoining outside of the tube, advantageously, by applying sealing material to the junction between the end of the hose and the outside of the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,995 (Anthracite) discloses a catheter for nasotracheal aspiration of uncontaminated sputum specimens. In particular, the catheter is designed to be passed through the nasopharynx and into the trachea without contamination of the catheter lumen for obtaining uncontaminated sputum specimens. The catheter lumen is sealed to prevent entry of contaminants by the provision of a length of flexible, expandable tubing placed over and attached to the distal end of the catheter. The flexible tubing is rolled-up over a portion of its length and inverted into the unrolled portion, with the unrolled portion forming a cuff encircling the rolled-up portion to hold the rolled portion. A syringe pump connected to the opposite end of the catheter introduces fluid under pressure into the lumen of the catheter to expand the cuff and urge the rolled-up portion of the tubing from the cuff, and to unroll the tubing, whereby the lumen of the catheter is unsealed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,711 (Chin, et al.) discloses a tubular extrusion catheter comprising an inverted-evertable non-elastic tube having a diameter throughout equal to or greater than the catheter body, an axially aligned end opening at the distal end, and a multifold configuration of the distal end to maintain end-sealing during inversion and eversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,698 (Goldstein, et al.) discloses a method and apparatus for traversing blood vessels. In particular, the everting tube principle is applied to an intravascular catheter system by utilizing the tube as a secondary catheter which everts from the leading end of a primary catheter tube. Thus, in use, the primary catheter tube of generally conventional form with the everting tube carried completely inside of it, is inserted into and worked through a blood vessel in the conventional manner and when the leading end of the primary tube has reached the limit of its travel, due either to further inaccessibility or length of travel, the everting tube, having its forward end attached to the leading end of the primary tube is everted from the leading end of the primary tube for further advancement along the blood vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,094 (Shook) discloses a toposcopic catheter and method of fabrication. In particular, the everting catheter assembly includes a primary catheter tube inside of which an everting or toposcopic element is secured spaced from the distal end of the primary catheter tube and with the open head end of the toposcopic element facing away from the open distal end of the primary catheter. The bonding of the toposcopic element to the interior of the primary catheter is effected with the use of a hollow mandrel through which the toposcopic element extends so that a short length of the toposcopic element projects out from the mandrel and is folded back over a length of the outer surface of the mandrel at the mandrel forward end. The mandrel is withdrawn into the primary catheter tube to the desired location for bonding at which point a bond is effected by means of heat conducted to the mating surfaces through the catheter wall or deposited locally by a radiative technique and heating between the mating surfaces. The tail end of the everting catheter is secured into a seal tube of greater rigidity by disposing the open tail end of the toposcopic element over a bias-cut end of the seal tube. Bonding is effected by application of heat to the mating surfaces. The bias-cut on the seal tube permits complete collapse of the toposcopic element upon pressurization of the annular cylindrical region from which the eversion is effected. Since the protruding bias-cut does not preferentially bend so as to evert within itself, a geometrically unbalanced collapse of the toposcopic element occurs. Introduction of pressurized sterile eversion fluid media into the annular region is facilitated by means of a bleed tube extending to the lead end of the annular region so as to permit pre-existing gas to be bled from the annular region during pressurization.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,347 (Fogarty, et al.) discloses an inverted balloon catheter having sealed through lumen. In particular, the object of the disclosed invention is to provide a balloon catheter of the evertable-invertable type with a means for passing an object, such as a guide wire or a cannula, through the balloon while maintaining a sealed balloon system. This is accomplished, in a preferred way, by providing the free end of the balloon with a small axial elastomeric plug and providing the plug with a normally closed passageway, such as one formed by pushing a needle through the plug and by then withdrawing the needle. When the balloon is subject to inflation pressure, the plug acts as an imperforate part of the balloon whether or not a guide wire or the like is extending through the plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,070 (Grodecki, et al.) discloses a body cavity probe with an everting tube.
As may be ascertained, there are a number of medical instruments available for the probing and inspection of internal body cavities, such as the nose and throat passages, and many tubular conduits, e.g., the urinary tract; the sampling of contents from such cavities and the placement of medical treating devices therein. Many such instruments are of the rigid mechanical type that require either spreading of the walls of the cavity or the lubrication into such cavities of tubular metallic devices through which, after they are in place, additional instruments can be inserted. The insertion of these instruments may cause pressure and friction along the walls of the cavity, causing pain and discomfort, as well as injury to the tissues.
In an effort to overcome these problems, as shown by the above-noted documents, it has been proposed to line body cavities by means of a lining member which may be exserted or caused to protrude by the application thereto of a pressure medium in order to enable introduction of instruments into a body cavity lined in this fashion.
Nonetheless, a need continues for the provision of an everting tube structure of simple construction, which allows easy and/or self-administration, and which has an enhanced self-guiding ability.